Put a Video on a DVD

Do you happen to have a home video you filmed last holiday or a family vacation that you want to share with relatives but are too large to send through e-mail? Or perhaps you just want to have a copy you can watch on your DVD home theater? If your answer is yes, then the best way to do it is to put that video on a DVD. It’s very easy, and almost anyone can do it.

Steps

Putting a Video on a DVD Using Windows

  1. Get a blank DVD. First, you need a blank disc you can put your video into. You can buy a blank DVD from any audio or electronics store for less than $1 per disc or $10 per 10-piece packs.
    • You can choose between two disc sizes: 4 gigabyte or 8 gigabyte, depending on the length of the video you’ll put. A 4 GB disc is about enough for a movie-length video of an hour and a half; any more, and you’ll need to use the 8 GB.
  2. Put the blank DVD on your computer’s CD/DVD drive. Drives are located in front of a CPU tower or along the sides of a laptop, depending on the make and model. Press the button on the drive to open it and insert the disc inside.
    • If you’re computer doesn't have a CD/DVD drive, like netbooks and some models of Mac computers, you can use an external CD/DVD drive instead, which you can purchase from any computer or electronics shop for around $20. There’s no need to install it; just plug it into any USB port on your computer and you can start using it.
  3. Select to “Burn” files. After you’ve inserted the DVD into the drive, a small auto-run window will appear on your desktop asking what you want to do with the DVD. Click on “Burn files to disc”; this will open the “Burn a disc” window.
  4. Type in any name you want for the DVD on the text field provided. Then select “With a CD/DVD player” option. This will allow your disc to be readable on DVD players and computers.
    • Press the “Next” button to continue. This will open your DVD drive on a new window.
  5. Go to the folder on your computer where the video you want to copy to a DVD is located. Open it and select the video file. Once you’ve selected it, drag it over to the DVD drive window. This will copy the selected video files to your DVD, ready for burning.
  6. Click on the “Burn” button at the upper left of the DVD drive window. This will open the “Burn to Disc” window.
  7. Burn the files. On the Burn to Disc window, type in again the name you want for your DVD.
    • Do not change the “Recording Speed” option as Windows will automatically detect the copying speed of the DVD disc you put into the drive.
    • Press the “Next” button to begin the burning process.
  8. Wait for the burning process to finish. Once it’s done, click on the “Finish” button and the DVD disc will automatically eject from the drive, completing the process.

Putting a Video on a DVD Using Mac

  1. Get a blank DVD. First, you need a blank disc you can put your video into. You can buy a blank DVD from any audio or electronics store for less than $1 per disc or $10 per 10-piece packs.
    • You can choose between two disc sizes: 4 gigabyte or 8 gigabyte, depending on the length of the video you’ll put. A 4 GB disc is about enough for a movie-length video of an hour and a half; any more, and you’ll need to use the 8 GB.
  2. Put the blank DVD on your computer’s CD/DVD drive. Drives are located in front of a CPU tower or along the sides of a laptop, depending on the make and model. Press the button on the drive to open it and insert the disc inside.
    • If you’re computer doesn't have a CD/DVD drive, like netbooks and some models of Mac computers, you can use an external CD/DVD drive instead, which you can purchase from any computer or electronics shop for around $20. There’s no need to install it; just plug it into any USB port on your computer and you can start using it.
  3. Download the “Burn” application. This will allow you to copy files and documents on your Mac to blank DVD discs.
  4. Click on the “Video” tab (one of the four tabs on top). Type in any name you want for your DVD disc on the text field provided. You can use alphanumeric characters when naming your disc.
  5. Click on the drop-down button next to the “Disc Name” text field. This will allow you to choose what kind of CD you’ll be burning. From the drop-down list, select DVD-Video since you’re making a DVD disc.
  6. Click “Burn.” Click on “Burn” at the upper left of the menu tab and select “Preferences” from the menu list to open Burn’s Option window.
  7. Click on the “DVD Video” tab located along the top to view the video options. Here, click the “Region” drop-down menu and select “NTSC” from the list.
    • Doing this sets the file format of the DVD disc you’re about to create so that DVD players will be able to read your disc. Press the red button at the upper left of the Options window to close it.
  8. Go to the folder on your computer where the video you want to copy to a DVD is located. Open it and select the video file. Once you’ve selected it, drag it over to the Burn window. Wait for a few moments while Burn loads the video file.
    • If an “Incompatible file” prompt appears as you move the video file to Burn’s window, simply click on “Convert” button on the prompt, and this will change the video file to a format the program recognizes.
  9. Press the “Burn” button at the lower right of the screen to continue. On the next window, select the right copying speed to burn the DVD. Click on the “Speed” drop-down list and select “4x.”
    • This will ensure you that the video will be copied to the DVD disc using the right speed without compromising quality. Click on “Burn” button again to begin the process.
    • Once the process is done, a DVD shortcut icon will be created on your desktop.

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